Defining Characteristics of the Autonomy Classroom

Language learning through language use and the exploitation of 'old' knowledge

Nowadays in second and foreign language (L2) classrooms around the world the teacher's goal is usually to develop her learners' communicative proficiency in the target language (TL). In our version of the autonomy classroom the teacher believes that she will achieve this goal by engaging her learners from the first in communicative use of the TL. She also believes that such communication must be authentic in the sense that it arises from and addresses the learners' here-and-now, their sense of themselves and their interests, so that their learning has immediate relevance for them. Accordingly, she seeks to exploit the knowledge, interests and skills that they bring to the classroom. This may include words and phrases in the TL, especially if that language is English or a language closely related to their L1. Research carried out several decades ago in Germany and Sweden (respectively, Nüßgen, 1994; Palmberg, 1985) showed that young teenagers knew many words of English before they had their first English lesson. Nowadays, with the ubiquity of the internet, the same is likely to be true of even younger learners. The teacher can also exploit the linguistic and communication skills that her learners have developed in their L1: their familiarity with the pragmatics of interpersonal interaction, their intuitions about the way language works, and (if they already have at least basic literacy skills in their L1) the relation between the sounds of language and written forms. She assumes that proficiency in L2 learning and proficiency in L2 use are two sides of the same coin.

Target language use and the role of the learners' first language

From the beginning, the teacher uses the TL to communicate with her learners collectively and individually. Beginners cannot respond in the TL, but she expects them to do so as early as possible, and she does all she can to scaffold their attempts in speech and writing.